Longspined Sea Urchin Population and Fishing Model Outputs for East Coast Tasmania

A size-structured stock assessment model tracks the abundance and growth of the invasive long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) across nine regions on the east coast of Tasmania. The model, described in a journal article in final preparation, simulates population dynamics from 1960 to 2160, with a focus on management options for the next 5 to 10 years. Output files include predicted urchin density, model fits from RStan, and projections for a scenario with no commercial fishing.

Use Cases

• Assessing the impact of commercial fishing on sea urchin density based on the 'biomean' and 'nevermean' output classes
• Evaluating model fit and recruitment function parameters based on the RStan-produced 'fitsum' outputs
• Comparing projected population trajectories under different management scenarios across nine geographic regions
• Studying the historical spread and growth of an invasive species since its first recorded presence in Tasmania in 1978

Strengths

• Model covers a 200-year simulation period from 1960 to 2160, providing long-term projections
• Outputs are provided for nine distinct geographic regions on the east coast of Tasmania
• Includes a counterfactual scenario ('nevermean') projecting density if no commercial fishing occurred

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• The underlying model and its assumptions are fully described in an associated journal article still in final preparation

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au

Collection Method

Output from a size-structured stock assessment model, generated through model testing and fitting.

Time Range

1960 to 2160 (model simulation), with focus on past 15 years and next 5-10 years

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 18:55:46.616152; freshness should be verified

Geography

Nine regions on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia